WTA Finals singles debutant Flavia Pennetta secured her first win on Tuesday with a straight sets win over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6, 6-4. The 33-year old US Open champion has qualified in doubles in the past but never in singles until now. The Italian has indicated that she will be retiring from the sport by the end of this season
“I tried to be really focused, tried to hit the ball hard, be aggressive and not give her too much time to do her job,” Pennetta said. “I mean, she plays unbelievable, she can let you run for hours all over the court, so you need to be really aggressive with her.
“My serve helped me a lot today and helped me play the way I did today. Of course the key was to be really near to the baseline, not to give up much of the court and take advantage. It’s my first time in the Finals as a singles player. It’s really nice to play here, the court is nice and the crowd is amazing,” the Italian added.
Pennetta lost her opening round robin match on Sunday to Simona Halep and she knew that winning this second match was crucial to keep her campaign alive in the tournament.
The Italian has a tough assignment on Thursday as she faces Maria Sharapova.
“After this win, I still have a little bit of chance. It’s good to be in this position, to have a chance to play another match and get into the semifinals.”
